Pilfering in the workplace

lady1964

I hope this is the right board, if not, could a Mod please move.

Mine is probably a relatively petty problem but one that is quite irritating!

I buy my own milk for work and place it in the fridge in the kitchen that is used by quite a few other people (I work in a serviced office building where there's quite a lot of small businesses).

We have our own 'company milk' also as we provide refreshments on request, this sits in the same fridge.

Anyway, today, I went to make a cuppa and over half my pint of milk had gone - I put my new pint in the fridge yesterday and know that there's no way I've used that much myself, in fact, there is always a little bit left in the bottle on Friday when I go home. So, someone has clearly been helping themselves to my milk. We have noticed the same thing with our 'company milk' on several occasions. We do write our company name on the bottle but it doesn't always make a difference.

This is very irritating, I can understand if someone is only in their office for an hour, is desperate for a cuppa and hasn't got milk - if you want a drop of mine, please ask & I'll let you have it. However, why do some people feel they can just help themselves to something they know they haven't bought & isn't theirs? It drives me nuts and is essentially theft.

So, other than write my name on my bottle, what else can I do? We won't be allowed to have a small fridge in our office, so we have no option but to leave it in the common use fridge....

All suggestions welcome :)

AP007

Write your name and mark the bottle when you use it and keep the bottle in a carrier bag so no one can really see it and maybe stick it in the salad box you get at the bottom.

Leave a note too in the fridge

InnerDemon

Label it 'Breast Milk'? That'd work

AP007

InnerDemon wrote: »

Label it 'Breast Milk'? That'd work

Yeah pour it out of the milk bottle and put in a baby bottle then no one will touch it

geri1965_2

I used to have this problem with a colleague who would help herself to anything of mine. She even took my hummus home once. On the next lot I bought, I stuck a label on it which said I HAVE LICKED THIS.

gb12345

geri1965 wrote: »

On the next lot I bought, I stuck a label on it which said I HAVE LICKED THIS.

And the next day there was another label that said "SO HAVE I" :rotfl:

lady1964

Some great suggestions, if slightly cheeky

I think I'll try putting it in the carrier bag in the salad drawer with my bottle and our 'company bottles'.

Thank you :j

ariba10

I expect you have to be cautious taking other people's food from the fridge.

It has been known for the food to be contaminated!

dancingfairy

Put food colouring in it :eek: Not sure someone would be quite so keen to help themselves to blue or pink or green milk. Although if you make it yellow/green it'll look a bit like that amoxicillin (antibiotic) stuff you get from the doctors (which will put them off further).
df

Cooper18

Same problem here, not life threatening but you're right - very irritating. I stole an empty slim fast container off a friend and use this to transport milk. No one has borrowed/stolen my milk since. Another colleague re-uses an old milk container so it looks like its out of date, no one risks it either.

AP007

Put a bottle in the fridge which you don't use and have laxatives in it haha